OCBC 365 Credit Card – MoneySmart Review 2019

The OCBC 365 Credit Card is really boring, which is precisely why it is such a great all-round cashback credit card for anyone and everyone who spends on “the usual stuff”. The bonus cash rebates literally cover all ground – you can earn 3% to 6% on dining,online shopping, groceries,telco bills and petrol.

Read on to find out more about the OCBC 365 Credit Card.

OCBC 365 Credit Card terms and conditions

OCBC 365 Credit Card

Annual fee & waiver

$193 (waived for 2 years)

Supplementary annual fee

$96.3 (waived for 2 years)

Interest free period

23 days

Annual interest rate

25.92%

Late payment fee

$100

Minimum monthly repayment

3% or $50, whichever is higher

Foreign currency transaction fee

2.80%

Cash advance transaction fee

6% or $15, whichever is higher

Overlimit fee

N.A.

Minimum income

$30,000 (Singaporean) / $45,000 (non-Singaporean)

Card association

Visa

Wireless payment

Visa payWave, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay

How the OCBC 365 Credit Card works

I’ve often found myself standing red-faced in line, fumbling through my wallet, desperately trying to remember which card was the one designated for grocery spending or whether I should switch to another card if I don’t manage to meet my minimum spending on this other one and… argh.

Which is why I genuinely appreciate all-rounder credit cards that give you decent cashback on a ton of things, from the usual dining and online shopping to recurring telco bills and groceries. The OCBC 365 Credit Card is one such card.

OCBC just announced that they’re revising the cash rebate programme for the OCBC 365 credit card (effective 1 Oct 2018). Let’s have a look:

Spending category

OCBC 365 credit card cashback

Dining (including food delivery)

6%

Groceries (including online)

3%

Telco bills (Singtel, Starhub, M1)

3%

Recurring electricity bills (Sembcorp Power, Senoko Energy, etc.)

3%

Online travel bookings

3%

Public transport (including Grab, Ryde)

3%

Petrol

Up to 23% fuel savings at Caltex and 20.4% fuel savings at Esso. 5% at all petrol stations locally and overseas.

Minimum spend: $800

Cashback cap: $80 per month

As you can see, a great many of the typical daily expenses are covered by this card’s bonus cashback rates: dining, groceries, utilities and transport. No matter what your lifestyle is like, you should be able to get a fair bit of cashback in one or more of the above categories.

A quick look at the above summary and you’ll notice that OCBC has mostly upgraded its rebate programme. Dining rebate tiers are no longer split into weekend and weekday – it is a neat 6% across the board, and includes food delivery apps like Deliveroo, FoodPanda and the likes, which makes a huge difference. They’ve also added online groceries to the 3% grocery category.

New bonus cashback categories are recurring electricity bills, online travel bookings and public transport (all 3%). The last one is particularly significant – previously, you only got extra rebates on petrol spend and not for taking the bus, MRT and taxi. From 1 Oct 2018 onwards, the public transport category will even include private hire services (Grab, Ryde, etc).

But of course, these enhanced perks come at a price: Up $200 from the previous $600, the OCBC 365 credit card’s minimum spend is now $800. However, even though you’re expected to spend more, the cash back cap remains at $80 per month.

Who should use the OCBC 365 Credit Card?

With bonus cashback for dining, groceries, telco bills and petrol, the OCBC 365 Credit Card is great for everyone and anyone who pays for their own shit, really.

The card is only one of the few that offers accelerated cashback for telco spending, with a generous 3% cashback rate. If you are paying hefty telco bills or paying the phone bills of more than one person (eg. your spouse, kids or elderly parents), this is a very good card to get.

The $800 minimum monthly spending requirement may be prohibitive for some, but given the number of categories you can get cashback in, I find it reasonable. Plus, once the new programme is effective, your Deliveroo lunches and RedMart shopping will count as dining and groceries too.

Not to mention, the added category for online travel is great for jet setters – you can book your flights, cruises, railways tickets and accommodation directly from the provider (e.g. airline or hotel) or through aggregators (e.g. Agoda, Expedia, etc) and they will all be eligible for 3% cash back.

The OCBC 365 Credit Card used to be a pretty decent option for entry-level cardholders. However, now that the minimum spend is $800, fresh grads will have to think twice about whether they can realistically benefit from this card – if you don’t hit $800, you only earn the pathetic base cash back of 0.3%.

All in all, this is a pretty strong card to use on most things except retail shopping and entertainment (you only get qualify for the dining cashback if an establishment is listed as a restaurant and not a bar or pub).

Alternatives to the OCBC 365 Credit Card

Here are some other cashback cards that are good all-rounders:

American Express True Cashback Card– 3% cashback in the first 6 months for up to $5,000, and thereafter 1.5% cashback on everything. The cashback isn’t as generous, but that’s because there are no limits to the cashback and no minimum spending requirement.

Maybank Platinum Visa Card– Get up to 3.33% cashback on everything (local spend) when you spend at least $300 for every month in a quarter, or $1,000 every month in one specific quarter. The minimum spend requirement sounds low, but the cashback cap is proportionate – you can only get up to $30, or $100 per month respectively.

Citi Cash Back Card– Higher cashback on a slightly different range of categories. You get 8% cashback on groceries, dining, Grab rides and petrol, but it’s capped at $25 per category. The biggest drawback is that you don’t get cashback on online shopping and the minimum monthly spending requirement is higher ($888).

UOB One Card– Another good all-rounder which gives cash rebates on all spending, but be prepared to bust your brain reading their minimum spending requirements (and other terms and conditions). Spend $500 or $1,000 a month + make at least 5 transactions in all three months in a quarter to get rebates of 3.33%. Spend exactly $2,000 every month in a quarter and the rebate amount increases to a cool 5%. Cash back is capped at $50, $100, or $300 per quarter. Yeah, it’s complicated.

As you can see from the above comparison, the “best cashback credit card” for you largely depends on how much you can spend every month.

Big spenders who can easily meet a higher minimum spending requirement can take advantage of the higher cashback rates offered by the Citi Cash Back Card or UOB One.

But if even the $800 minimum spending requirement of the OCBC 365 Credit Card is too high for you, opt for the American Express True Cashback Card or Maybank Platinum Visa Card instead.

In my previous life, I was a property lawyer who spent most of my time struggling to get out of bed or stuck in peak hour traffic. These days, as a freelance commercial writer, I work in bed, on the beach, in parks and at cafes, all while being really frugal. I like helping other people save money so they can stop living lives they don't like.